I Am The Greatest Femboy Mage

Across the floor, Rudra approached the rack with none of Milena’s efficiency and all of his usual deliberate composure, passing over the swords and spears entirely in favor of something much heavier mounted near the back.

A mace, of all things.

It was thick-headed and ornately flanged, the kind of weapon that looked like it belonged in an older, more ceremonial context than a first-year practical class.

"A Gadha," Cordelia murmured beside Elian, already scribbling something in her notebook, delighted by the detail that Elian was unfortunately starting to get used to.

"It’s the traditional weapon of the Suryavanshis" She said, looking up from the notebook. "There’s actual religious significance attached to it, if I remember the texts correctly. Most of the old solar-line warrior kings were depicted wielding one."

Rudra hefted it with the ease of someone who’d trained with the weight his entire life, testing its swing once, twice, before settling into a low, grounded stance that looked considerably more like a formal art than anything improvised.

"He’s never used that with us before, It was always a sword."

Cordelia shrugged.

"Maybe he was just holding back."

Milena, spear still in hand, caught Elian watching and raised an eyebrow.

"You’re staring again."

"I still do that?"

"You do." She glanced past him toward the center of the floor, where Reyes was already waving both her and Rudra forward, expression flat and expectant.

"Hold onto him." Then a pause, Milena considering something.

"If you drop my snake, I will have him bite you personally."

"That’s not fair..."

Elian adjusted his grip, the baby bloodfang’s small weight settling warm against his wrist, and watched Milena walk out to face Rudra with the same rigid, controlled poised that she always had. Spear held loose but ready, giving absolutely nothing away.

They stood facing against each other for a small moment, waiting for the signal to start.

"Begin."

...

If anyone asked Elian what he expected to see of a fight between two nobles of two very different kingdoms, he would have had many answers.

One thing he would have never said is to see the both of them throwing their weapons at each other at a ridiculous speed the moment the duel commenced.

Milena sidestepped from the Gadha flying towards her face, the heavy spherical mace whistling past close enough to stir her hair, while her own spear tumbled end over end toward Rudra’s head, forcing him to duck low and let it clatter uselessly against the wall behind him.

The entire class for a long moment, except Darrow who let out a low whistle.

Well, to his credit, Elian had managed to catch the silent agreement pass in between them the moment they stepped into the arena.

He understood that the both of them probably decided on the perfect course of action when they realised fighting against the weapon they’re against was going to be more trouble than it was worth.

Which Elian found himself agreeing. Since a mace could easily shatter through a spear, while the reach of the spear could spell trouble for the mace holder, which was too heavy to compensate for the spear’s nimbleness.

He couldn’t help but notice that the decision making skills the two possessed where eerily similar to each other.

Both weapons hit the ground at the same moment, and neither of them so much as glanced at where they’d landed.

"Should have aimed a little better, I almost had to take a step to dodge it."

Milena said, already dropping into a bare-handed stance, calm as ever despite having just thrown away her only weapon.

"You say that like you aimed any better"

Rudra shot back, settling into something low and grounded, hands balled into fists.

Reyes, watching from the sideline, let out a laugh, a very concerning sound for someone that looked like him to make.

"Didn’t see that coming. Continue!"

Milena closed the distance first this time, quick and precise, a series of sharp strikes that Rudra met with controlled, impressively rigid blocks.

There were no wasted motion on either side as they finished exchanging the first blow, both of them clearly more comfortable dictating a fight’s rhythm than reacting to one.

Where Darrow had fought loose and improvisational and Oizys having something similar to a graceful dance, this was something else entirely.

It was two very similar people pitted against each other, having been drilled since childhood in the specific, brutal efficiency of never losing.

Milena moved again, hand shooting towards Rudra’s shoulder.

"You throw a weapon like that at someone else," Rudra said, catching her wrist mid-strike and redirecting it past his shoulder, "and they die for the insult alone."

"Yes, that’s the entire point."

Milena twisted free, using the momentum to put distance between them again.

"Means I don’t need to beat you, the insult did the work all by itself."

The barest hint of amusement flickered across Rudra’s face.

He came at her next, faster than before this time, feinting a punch to her jaw as he used the momentum of his flying fist to twist in place for an overhead kick.

Milena ducked, sweeping her legs in a wide arc that made Rudra jump.

Refusing to give him time to land, she raised her leg, kicking him square in the chest, making him fly backwards and land on his back.

Silence.

Absolute silence settled in the room.

Milena didn’t press once Rudra hit the ground, most likely waiting to see if he was going to yield or not.

Which to his credit, he did not, immediately rising from the floor before professor Reyes could call an end to the fight.

Before anyone could even register what even happened, Rudra had already arrived upon Milena with a few swift hops, descending upon her a flurry attacks.

Punch, jab, punch, kick. Milena was forced into a defensive position, blocking blow after blow as Rudra drove her into a corner.

Then, after a particularly strong punch where he had over-committed the tiniest of bits, Milena seized the opportunity to push him backwards, then feinting a kick to put distance between them.

Both stood still for a moment, breathing hard as they stared each other.

Then the next moment, the were already upon descending upon their opponent with a new set of attacks.

The fight had shifted into something considerably more serious, the exchanges landing close enough that Elian found himself holding his breath along with the rest of the room.

Beside him, the snake had gone very still around his wrist, small head lifted, tracking the fight with the same rapt attention as everyone else, occasionally flinching when a blow or two landed on Milena.

"They’re good,"

Cordelia murmured, notebook forgotten once again.

"Really, really good. This isn’t academy training. This is..." For the first time, she looked lost for words.

"Combat learned by necessity, as if someone raised them for exactly this," Elian finished quietly, watching Rudra catch Milena’s strike an inch from his jaw, both of them breathing hard, neither one giving an inch.